The very mention of Maggie at the district police headquarters here is enough to send chill down the spine of people accused of rape, murder, house break-ins and dacoities.
In three years after joining the department, the five-year-old tracker dog traced the accused in three murder cases since March 2015, apart from providing leads and definite clues in half a dozen murder cases and house break-ins. The German Shepherd is much loved for its accuracy in zeroing in on criminals exactly when the cops are clueless. Maggie’s success in sniffing the accused in a murder case at Vengampalle village of Tavanampalle mandal near here on September 14 made her an overnight celebrity not only in the police circles but also among the public.
A woman along with her boyfriend of a neighbouring village allegedly murdered her sleeping husband on September 13. The accused hit the man on the head with a stick and strangled him with a piece of cloth. The police team from Chittoor reached the spot the next day. They thought it was an act of murder for gain as the deceased’s wife presented a picture of grief.
When the police team was about to leave the spot, Maggie sprinted forward and ran for one and half km. It stood barking right in front of the wailing woman at her residence. The probing looks and menacing bark of the canine forced the woman to reportedly confess to the crime. From Vengampalle, it further led the trail to the boyfriend’s hideout nearby. In a matter of a few hours, both were arrested.
On April 22 last year, a 40-year-old man in an inebriated condition allegedly stalked a homemaker while she was going towards the village tank to relieve herself at Challavaripalle hamlet of Peddapanjani mandal. When the woman resisted, he allegedly crushed her head with a boulder. The next morning, Maggie picked up the scent from the bloodstained boulder and led the police to the accused’s house in the village.
On a lost trail
On the night of March 7, 2015, a woman was found raped and murdered near Diguvapune Palle village of Penumuru mandal. Maggie, then just two, sprinted towards the thorny bushes to dash towards a village nearby, after picking up the scent from the body. As the jungle trail proved difficult, the handler and the team postponed the trail to the next day. Resuming the trail, the cops were disappointed as the scent was lost due to lapse of time. However, Maggie picked up fresh scent from a male waist thread close to the body and ran towards a nearby village. The efficient tracker was soon in front of the accused when he was getting ready for a bath. The youth had the previous night allegedly raped and murdered the woman of Diguvapune Palle when she was returning home alone with vegetables.
Felicitated
In recognition of Maggie’s achievements, the district police felicitated her with a medal followed by band party on September 15.
Maggie’s handler B. Manigandan (31) said he always considered the canine as his own child. “It came into my arms at the age of eight months during training in Hyderabad. Its intelligence always stuns me. It always sports a dignified look and moves with lightning speed while at work. Maggie won several medals in police meets in South India,” he said.
